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ENGINEERING COUNCIL 

29 W. 39th Street. New York 



COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION 

AND 

COMPENSATION OF ENGINEERS 



PRELIMINARY REPORT OF FEDERAL 
GOVERNMENT SECTION 



NOVEMBER, 1919 



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ENGINEERING COUNCIL 

29 WEST 39th STREET, NEW YORK 
Telephone, Vanderbilt 4600 

An organization of National Technical Societies of 
America, created to provide for consideration of matters 
of common concern to Engineers, as well as those of 
public welfare in which the Profession is interested, in 
order that united action may be made possible. 

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION UNITED 
TO SERVE AMERICA 

CHAIRMAN J. PARKE CHANNING 

1st VICE-CHAIRMAN . D. S. JACOBUS 

2d VICE-CHAIRMAN CHAS. S. CHURCHILL 

SECRETARY ALFRED D. FLINN 

41,000 Members 

REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER SOCIETIES 

American Society of Civil Engineers 

Charles S. Churchill Arthur N. Talbot 

Joseph R. Worcester Alex. C. Humphreys 

Charles F. Loweth 

American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers 

Philip N. Moore George F. Kunz 

Sidney J. Jennings J. Parke Channing 

Edwin Ludlow 

American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

Ira N. Hollis George J. Foran 

Charles Whiting Baker Mortimer E. Cooley 

David S. Jacobus 

American Institute of Electrical Engineers 

Harold W. Buck Nathaniel A. Carle 

E. Wilbur Rice, Jr. Comfort A. Adams 

Charles E. Skinner 

United Engineering Society 

Clemens Herschel Benjamin B. Thayer 

Irving E. Moultrop Calvert Townley 

American Society for Testing Materials 

Albert Ladd Colby 

WASHINGTON OFFICE, M. O. LEIGHTON in Charge, 

McLachlen Building, 10th and G Streets 

Telephone, Franklin 3416 



. 



V 



ENGINEERING COUNCIL 

i^ \ Engineering Societies Building 

> p 29 West Thirty-Ninth Street 

, c\v\ New York 

Employed professional Engineers have found themselves unprepared to meet 
the changes in economic conditions which have occurred during the last few years. 
They are now endeavoring to bring about increases of compensation so as to sus- 
tain themselves according to previous standards of living and to adjust the hitherto 
inadequate salaries of positions to their responsibihties. They have been placed at 
a greater disadvantage than men following vocations having well established bet- 
terment organizations. 

With the purpose of helping to correct these unfavorable conditions, Engineer- 
ing Council organized, in April last, a Committee on Classification and Compen- 
sation of Engineers, having the following members : 
Major Committee 

Arthur S. Tuttle, Deputy Chief Engineer, Board of Estimate, New York City, 

Chairman, and Chairman of State and Municipal Engineers Section. 
Francis Lee Stuart, Consulting Engineer, New York City, Chairman Railroad 

Engineers Section. 
John C. Hoyt, Hydraulic Engineer, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. 

C., Chairman, Federal Government Engineers Section. 
Charles Whiting Baker, Consulting Engineer, New York City. Chairman, Pub- 
lic Affairs Committee, Engineering Council. 
M. O. Leighton, Consulting Engineer, Washington, D. C, Chairman, National 
Service Committee, Engineering Council. 
State and Municipal Section 

Arthur S. Tuttle, Chairman. 

M. M. O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer, San Francisco. 
F. W. Cappelen, City Engineer, Minneapolis. 
Railroad Section 

Francis Lee Stuart, Chairman. 

Frank H. Clark, Consulting Engineer, New York City. 
Bion J. Arnold, Consulting Engineer, Chicago. 
Federal Government Section 
John C. Hoyt, Chairman. 

John S. Conway, Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses, Washington. 
O. C. Merrill, Chief Engineer, Forest Service, Washington. 
The Federal Section has submitted a preliminary report which is presented here- 
with to the engineering public for criticism and suggestions. 

Careful consideration of all phases of the question from the standpoint of both 
employer and employee is invited to the end that the final report may serve as a 
basis for a rational system of classification and the establishment of proper em- 
ployment policies, with adequate compensation, applying, so far as practicable, to 
all branches of the engineering profession and all lines of engineering work. 

It is highly important that members of the Profession interest themselves 
actively in this subject, because the right solution of the problem is essential to the 
welfare of individual members of the Profession and necessary in keeping its 
standards on a high plane. Special comment on the tentative grades and salary 
schedules will be appreciated. Please use the inclosed blank, in order that sug- 
gestions may be made on a uniform basis, and send your comments before Decem- 
ber 15. 

Ai^frEd D. Funn, 
November 11, 1919. Secretary.. 

On account of the particular interest in the subject of classifica- 
tion of salaries among scientific and technical men other than en- 
gineers, The Washington Academy of Sciences has undertaken to 
publish and distribute this Report to the members of the societies 
affiliated with the Academy. The Committee believes that the 
classification and salary schedule herewith presented may with 
slight modification be made applicable to all scientific and technical 
positions in the Government service. 



PRELIMINARY REPORT 

ENGINEERING COUNCIL COMMITTEE 

ON 

CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION OF ENGINEERS 

IN THE SERVICE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

NOVEMBER, 1919. 

John C. Hoyt, Hydraulic Engineer, Geological Survey. 
John S. Conway, Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses. 
O. C. Merrill, Chief Engineer, Forest Service. 

INTRODUCTION 

The executive branch of the Federal Government comprises over 50 independent 
establishments. These include, besides the ten departments, numerous commissions, 
boards and other organizations. For administrative purposes and for the ac- 
complishment of specific work these establishments are divided into organization 
units. The work of the professional engineer enters in large measure either di- 
rectly or indirectly into the activities of all these establishments. 

In the gradual development of the executive branch of the Federal Government, 
which has extended over the entire period of the history of the country, units of 
organization have been created one by one to meet growing needs. To carry on 
the work of these new units and to provide for the growth of older ones a great 
expansion in personnel has been required. In this expansion too little consideration 
has been given to the special requirements of the several positions ; to the relation 
of these positions to one another, either in the same or in different organization 
units ; or to the relation between the units themselves. As a result there have 
grown up many inequalities, and injustices which affect adversely both the em- 
ployee and the organization. Although these inequalities and injustices exist in all 
lines of government work, they are especially noticeable in organization units which 
comprise engineering and other professional positions. It is to the end that these 
inequalities and injustices may be pointed out and that methods may be suggested 
for their correction that this report has been prepared. 

COLLECTION OF DATA 

Th collection of data for a study of this kind may be made in the following 
ways : 

1. By questionnaires for individuals. 

2. By questionnaires for groups. 

3. By study of existing reports. 

4. By interviews. 

Each of these methods was used except the individual questionnaire. The 
psychological effect of a questionnaire giving each employee an opportunity to 
state his personal views was fully recognized, but it was believed that such state- 
ments, involving a large amount of clerical work in tabulation and study, with 
every possibility of a lack of uniformity in preparation, would not yield concise 
and systematic information for the solution of the problem before this committee. 

In making the study the group questionnaire of the form indicated in Table 1, 
page 9, was sent to the heads of the departments and other independent establish- 
ments with the request that one be filled out for each organization unit composed 
primarily of engineers. Favorable responses were received from all except the 
War Department, which stated that it would be impracticable to furnish the in- 
formation desired. 

As a result of the inquiry questionnaires were returned by twenty organization 
units, sixteen in civil establishments and four in the Navy Department, employ- 
ing an aggregate of about 4,600 engineers. In the analysis of these questionnaires 
it "was necessary to interview officials and to consult existing reports. The study 
was conducted along two lines, as follows : 



1. A classification, which consists in naming, defining, and grouping the posi- 
tions under a system of vocations and grades which will permit the making of 
adequate comparisons. 

2. An outline of an employment policy and a recommendation of a salary scale 
which will provide equitable compensation for services rendered and will make it 
possible to secure and retain a competent personnel for the conduct of Govern- 
ment business. 

The committee is continuing its study of the subject and will present a final re- 
port as soon as the analysis is completed. 

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS. 

The preliminary analysis of the questionnaires has shown the lack of any 
adequate or consistent employment policy with respect to engineers and other 
technical employees in the Government service. This is shown by the following 
conditions, which are believed to be largely responsible for the unsatisfactory status 
of this class of Government employees : 

1. Absence of any system of grading of positions. 

2. Lack of uniformity in classes of positions and in their titles and duties. 

3. Inequahties in compensation for positions of the same grade in different or- 
ganization units. 

4. Generally inadequate compensation for services rendered. 

To the end that these conditions may be corrected and proper and equitable con- 
ditions of employment established for engineers, as well as for other Government 
employees, the following practices and principles are recommended : 

1. Positions should be classified in accordance with the character of the duties 
to be performed and with the training and experience necessary for their perform- 
ance, as indicated by a system of grading. 

2. Within the salary limits fixed for each grade, there should be a system of ad- 
vancement through the grade based upon experience gained in the position and 
upon proof of increase in the proficiency of the employee in performing the duties 
of the grade. 

3. Promotions from grade to grade should depend upon the existence of a 
vacancy in the higher grade and proof that the employee is qualified to fill the 
vacancy. 

4. The determination of adequate salary schedules should take into account and 
properly weigh the following considerations : 

(a) The capital invested, both in money and in time, in obtaining the requisite 
fundamental training. 

(b) The amount and character of experience and the degree of personal ability 
required. 

(c) The relative value of the classes of work to be performed. 

(d) The amount paid for similar work in private employment. 

(e) The amount necessary to enable the employee to maintain a standard of 
living commensurate with the general standards of the community for positions 
of similar dignity and responsibility. 

(f) The amount necessary to procure for and retain in the Government service 
a class of employees capable of conducting the business of the Government with 
an efficiency and a spirit of initiative equal to that of private business. 

5. In the interest of an adequate social policy, no position likely to be occupied 
by individuals of an age to assume family responsibilities should fail to pay an 
amount sufficient to permit the maintenance of the average family in reasonable 
decency and comfort. 

6. In the interest of the employees as a whole and of the proper conduct of the 
work of the Government, a system should be established by which employees who 
fail to maintain satisfactory standards of service should be removed, transferred, 
demoted, or retired as may be equitable in the circumstances. 

CLASSIFICATION 

The absence of any adequate system of classification in the Government service 
was brought out clearly by the investigation as evidenced by the numerous titles of 
positions submitted by the twenty reporting bureaus. Many of these were little 
more than payroll titles, were neither consistent nor uniform, and gave little indi- 



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cation of the character of the duties required by the positions. Furthermore, there 
is a surprising lack of uniformity in the entrance requirements for various posi- 
tions, as illustrated by figure 1. This figure shows, for some 80 current civil serv- 
ice examinations for engineering positions in the Federal Government service, the 
years of preliminary experience, both with and without a technical degree, which 
are held as a prerequisite for admission to examination, the number of years in 
responsible charge of work which are required, and the credit in years of experi- 
ence which are given for a technical degree. 

The fundamental points to be considered in a classification of positions designed 
for the purpose of determining proper scales of compensation and other conditions 
pertaining to employment are : 

1. The type of work, as indicated by the vocation in which the position falls. 

2, The grade of work, as determined by the proficiency and responsibilities in- 
volved. 

The type of work pertaining to a position, whether it represents a calling, a busi- 
ness, a trade, or other activities, including professional as well as mechanical oper- 
ations, determines what is comi^only termed the vocation or occupation of the in- 
dividual holding the position. Vocations having similar characteristics may be 
grouped into services, such as engineering, scientific, clerical, artisan, etc. 

In the professional engineering service, as the term is generally understood, the 
following vocations are found in the activities of the Federal Government: 

Aeronautical Engineer 
Architect 

Chemical Engineer 
Civil Engineer 
Electrical Engineer 
Forestry Engineer 
Marine Engineer 
Mechanical Engineer 
Metallurgical Engineer 
Mining Engineer 
Naval Architect 
Ordnance Engineer 

Although positions in a vocation have similar characteristics in respect to the 
type of work, there are individual differences which depend on the responsibilities 
and proficiency involved. Such differences may be indicated by a system of grad- 
ing that will be common to vocations in the same or similar services. In such a 
system of grading it is important to maintain the following principles : 

1. That it shall provide a distinct means of comparing positions within the sev- 
eral vocations. 

2. That it shall provide for comparison on an equitable basisof positions involv- 
ing independent work with those involving administrative duties. 

3. That it shall indicate a direct line of promotion from grade to grade and 
give an opportunity for regular advancement within a grade. 

In the questionnaire used for collecting data for this report there were eight 
grades— four administrative and four nonadministrative. The data collected as 
summarized in Table 1, page 9 show that this system of grading was unsatisfac- 
tory in two respects: 

1. It did not give a fair relative consideration of administrative and nonadmin- 
istrative work. 

2. It gave too wide a range of positions in Grade 8. 

The study showed that the needs of the engineering services would be better 
served if the positions in the eighth grade were distributed among the first four 
and the definitions of the other grades extended to cover both admmistrative and 
nonadministrative positions. On this basis the following seven grades are pro- 
posed. This system of grading applies equally well to positions m any profes- 
sional vocation. 



PROPOSED GRADES FOR ENGINEERING VOCATIONS. 

ProfessionaIv. 

1. CHIEF ENGINEER. 

DuHes:^ To act in chief administrative charge of a technical organization, or of 
a main division thereof; to determine the general policies of the organization un- 
der the limitations imposed by law, regulation, or other fixed requirement : to have 
final responsibility for the preparation of reports, cost estimates, designs, and spec- 
ifications and^ for the construction, maintenance, or operation of engineering 
works or projects; to have full charge of the collection and presentation of data 
for and the conduct of valuation proceedings; to conduct or direct the most com- 
prehensive lines of engineering research ; or to act as a consulting specialist on im- 
portant engineering works, projects, policies, or valuations. 

Qualifications: Training and experience of a character to give substantial evi- 
dence of engineering knowledge and ability or of executive capacities of highest 
order along lines of work similar to those involved in the position to be occupied 
and of at least twelve years' duration, of which at least four years shall have been 
in duties of Engineer, or their equivalent, and at least five years in responsible 
charge of important work or projects. Fundamental training equivalent to that 
represented by professional degree granted upon the completion of a standard 
course of engineering instruction in an educational institution of recognized stand- 
ing or, in absence of such degree, at least four years of additional experience. 
The completion of each full year of such standard course shall be considered the 
equivalent of one year of such additional experience. 

2. ENGINEER. 

Duties: ^ Under general administrative direction and within the limits of the gen- 
eral policies of the organization, to have responsible charge of and to initiate and 
determine policies for a major subdivision of an organization; to prepare. for final 
executive action reports, cost estimates, designs, specifications, and valuation 
studies and data; to have immediate charge of the construction, maintenance, or 
operation of engineering works or projects of major importance; to conduct or 
direct major lines of engineering research; or to furnish for executive action ex- 
pert or critical advice on engineering works, projects or policies. 

Qualifications: Active professional practice or executive charge of work for at 
least eight years, of a character to demonstrate a high degree of initiative and of 
ability in the administration, design, or construction of engineering work or 
projects of major importance, of which at least three years shall have been spent 
in duties of Senior Assistant Engineer, or their equivalent, and at least three 
years in responsible charge of work. Fundamental training equivalent to that rep- 
resented by professional degree granted upon the completion of a standard course 
of engineering instruction in an educational institution of recognized standing or, 
in absence of such degree, at least four years of additional experience. Th,e 
completion of each full year of such standard course shall be considered the 
equivalent of one year of such additional experience. 

3. SENIOR ASSISTANT ENGINEER 

Duties: Under general administrative and technical^ direction, to be in respon- 
sible charge of an intermediate division of an organization ; to exercise independent 
engneering judgment and assume responsibility in studies and computations neces- 
sary for the preparation of reports, cost estimates, designs, or valuations ; to have 
immediate charge of the construction, maintenance, or operation of important en- 
gineering works or projects; or to conduct or direct important lines of engineer- 
ing research. 

Qualifications : Active professional practice or executive charge of work for at 
least five years, of which at least three years shall have been spent in duties of 
Assistant Engineer, or their equivalent, with at least one year in responsible charge 
of work. Fundamental training equivalent to that represented by professional de- 



gree granted upon the completion of a standard course of engineering instruction 
in an educational institution of recognized standing or, in absence of such degree, 
at least four years of additional experience. The completion of each full 
year of such standard course shall be considered the equivalent of one year of 
such additional experience. 

4. ASSISTANT ENGINEER 

Duties: Under specific administrative and technical direction, to be responsible 
for the conduct of the work of a minor subdivision of an organization ; to collect 
and compile data for specific items of engineering studies; to take immediate 
charge of field survey projects and of the design and construction of minor engi- 
neering work; to lay out and develop work from specifications and to supervise the 
work of a drafting or computing force; or to conduct specific tests or investiga- 
tions of apparatus, material, or processes. 

Qualifications: Experience for at least two years in duties of Junior Assistant 
Engineer or their equivalent. Fundamental training equivalent to that represented 
by professional degree granted upon the completion of a standard course of engi- 
neering instruction in an educational institution of recognized standing or, in ab- 
sence of such degree, at least four years of additional experience. The completion 
of each full year of such standard course shall be considered the equivalent of one 
year of such additional experience. 

5. JUNIOR ASSISTANT ENGINEER 

Duties: Under immediate supervision, to perform work involving the use of 
surveying, measuring, and drafting instruments ; to take charge of parties on sur- 
vey or construction work ; to design details from sketches or specifications ; to 
compute and compile data for reports or records; to inspect or investigate minor 
details of engineering work; or to perform routine tests of apparatus, material, or 
processes. 

Qualifications: No experience required other than that involved in securing a 
professional degree upon the completion of a standard course of engineering in- 
struction in an educational institution of recognized standing; but in absence of 
such degree, a high school education or its equivalent is required and at least four 
years' experience in the use of surveying, measuring or drafting instruments or the 
computation and compilation of engineering data, together with evidence of a 
knowledge of the fundamentals of engineering science sufficient, with further ex- 
perience to quahfy for the higher professional grades. The completion of each full 
year of such standard course of engineering instruction shall be considered as the 
equivalent of one year of experience. 

Sub-Profi;ssionai<. 

6. AID. 

Duties: To operate, adjust, and care for surveying instruments and take charge 
of small parties on survey or construction work; to compute or supervise the com- 
putation of surveys, estimates, and data for reports or records; to plot or super- 
vise the plotting of notes and maps and direct the work of a drafting squad ; to 
design details ; or to prepare general working drawings where design is furnished ; 
or to inspect or investigate minor details of engineering work. 

Qualifications: Experience for two years in the use and care of surveying ancj 
drafting instruments; or as rodman, chainman, pr levelman; or in tracing, letter- 
ing, and drafting; or as recorder or computer. Graduation from or attendance at 
an engineering school not required, but candidate must have had a high-school 
education, or its equivalent, and be familiar with the construction, operation, and 
care of surveying instruments and with the use of the slide rule and logarith- 
mic and other simple computation tables. 

7. JUNIOR AID 

Duties: To perform miscellaneous subordinate duties in the office or field; to 
act as rodman, chainman, tapeman, levelman, or recorder; to trace or letter maps 
and drawings; to alter tracings to agree with work or sketches of work; to make 
simple drawings or details from sketches or data; or to perform minor computa- 
tions. , . ^ , . , , , 

Qualifications: Education equivalent to graduation from high school. 



Under the plan outlined above, the classification of positions consists in : 

1. Determining the vocation, using the list on page 5 as a guide. 

2. Determining the grade in accordance with the seven grades proposed. This, 
is the most difficult and important part of the classification. 

3. Naming and defining the class. 

In the classification special case should be taken to insure that the class names 
are distinctive and that they indicate as nearly as possible the character of work 
performed by the occupant of the position. The number of classes should be kept 
at a minimum, and new classes should not be established unless they are required 
by a difference in duties sufficiently distinctive to make necessary separate civil 
service examination. Only one class is suggested for the junior assistant and as- 
sistant grades, as these grades are largely of a general preparatory nature from 
which a man may advance to any one of the specific classes in the higher grades. 

Below is a list of typical classes of positions in the civil engineering vocation in 
the Government service. Similar typical classes may be formed for other engi- 
neering vocations. 

TYPICAL CLASSES OF POSITIONS IN VARIOUS GRADES IN THE 
CIVIL ENGINEERING VOCATION 



Sub-Professionai, Grades 
6. Aid 

Draftsman 
Instrumentman 
Computer 
Etc. 
/. Junior Aid 
Tracer 
Rodman 
Chainman 
Etc. 



Professionai. Grades 
J. Chief Engineer 

Director 

Superintendent 

Chief Engineer 

Consulting Engineer 

Commissioner 
Etc. 
2. Engineer 

Bridge Engineer 

Civil Engineer 

Drainage Engineer 

Geodetic Engineer 

Highway Engineer 

Hydraulic Engineer 

Irrigation Engineer 

Municipal Engineer 

Railroad Engineer 

Reclamation Engineer 

Sanitary Engineer 

Structural Engineer 
Etc. 
5. Senior Assistant Engineer 

Senior Assistant Bridge Engineer 

Senior Assistant HydrauHc Engineer 

Senior Assistant Sanitary Engineer 

Senior Assistant Structural Engineer 
Etc. 

4. Assistant Engineer 

Assistant Engineer 
Etc. 

5. Junior Assistant Engineer 

Junior Assistant Engineer 
Etc. 

INEQUALITIES OF COMPENSATION IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION 

UNITS 

The inequality in compensation for positions of the same grade in different 
organization units is strikingly shown by the questionnaires. These differences are 
indicated in Tables 1 and 2 and in figure 2. 



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The two principal reasons for these inequalities in compensation are as follows : 

1. The absence of any system of graded classification in the Government service. 

2. The different methods used by Congress in making appropriations for salaries, 
one of which is known as the "lump sum" and the other as the "statutory." 

The extreme discrepancies shown in Table 1 and on figure 2 would not be pos- 
sible if there existed even an approximately adequate system of grading of posi- 
tions. 

A considerable number of engineering positions, particularly in the lower grades, 
are on the "statutory roll" — that is, the salaries for the positions are fixed annually 
by Congress in the bill which carries the appropriation for the department. With 
few and unimportant exceptions, these statutory salaries have not been changed 
since the date they were first fixed by Act of Congress, ten, twenty, or forty years 
ago. Hundreds of statutory positions are now vacant, and the money appropriated 
for them is turned back into the Treasury because it is impossible to fill them at 
the rates which Congress has fixed. The salaries of the greater part of the tech- 
nical positions, however, are paid from "lump-sum" appropriations and are fixed 
by the head of the Department, although Congress ordinarily limits the amount 
which may be paid as salary under a lump sum appropriation — for example, the 
$4,500 maximum limit in the Department of Agriculture. Notwithstanding these 
limitations, the general scale of salaries on the "lump sum" roll is less inadequate 
than that on the "statutory" roll. This explains in part the variation in salaries 
paid for similar positions in different bureaus. For example, the salaries for 
engineering positions in the General Land Office and in the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, where there are many statutory positions, are less than those in the Bu- 
reau of Standards and in the Geological Survey. Furthermore, compensation in 
the younger bureaus, such as the Bureau of Mines and the Interstate Commerce 
Commission, is generally higher than in the older bureaus. 

The most striking inequality disclosed by the questionnaires is that between the 
several civilian bureaus and the four bureaus of the Navy Department. With the 
exception of Grades 1 and 2, the positions reported for the Navy Department are 
filled by civilian employees. In 1915 the average salaries in the Navy bureaus in 
Grades 3 to 7, inclusive, exceeded the average in the civilian bureaus by 2 to 20 
per cent. The excess in 1919 is from 40 to 64 per cent. The highest average in- 
crease in any grade for the civilian bureaus for the four-year period 1915-1919 is 
$265 in Grade 3, or $66 a year. The highest average increase in the Navy bureaus 
is in the same grade and amounts to $1,576, or $394 a year. This inequality is due 
to the fact that the salary schedules fixed by the Labor Adjustment Board in its 
decision of October 24, 1918, were made applicable to the Navy Department, but to 
none of the other bureaus covered by this report. 

Inequalities of this character can be eliminated only by the establishment of a 
properly graded classification with definite salary limits and having clear definitions 
of the duties and responsibilities involved and of the amount and character of 
training and experience required for the several grades. 

INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR SERVICES. 

One of the principal objects of the work of the committee has been to deter- 
mine an adequate compensation scale for engineering positions in the Government; 
service. In the determination of such a scale, two principles are controlling: 

1. No position should pay less than a reasonable living wage. 

2. Every position should pay the amount necessary to secure for and retain in 
the Government service employees capable of conducting the business of the Gov- 
ernment with an efficiency and a spirit of initiative equal to that required in private 

business. , . , -n • . • • j j 

By a "living wage" is meant the amount which will maintain in decency and 
comfort both the incumbent of the position and his dependents. There are cer- 
tain positions which are ordinarily occupied by young men and women who are 
starting on their life work and who have not yet assumed family responsibilities. 
In so far as the incumbents of these positions fill them temporarily as a means of 
advancement to positions of greater compensation— are in effect serving as ap- 
prentices— the living wage need not be based on a "family standard. When, how- 
ever any position is likely to be occupied more than temporarily by individuals of 
an age at which they should naturally assume family responsibilities, the mmimum 

11 






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salary for the position should not be less than that necessary to maintain an aver- 
age family in respectability. It is a serious social condition when a man 
with wife and children is paid so low a salary that he is unable to maintain him- 
self and family in conditions of reasonable decency and comfort. It is equally 
serious if young people are prevented from establishing homes of their own be- 
cause their salaries do not -permit it. 

The following extract from the Monthly Labor Review (January, 1919, page 9), 
gives data concerning the cost of living in the City of Washington : 

"In 1916 the typical white family, consisting of father, mother, and three chil- 
dren below the age of 15, was not able to make both ends meet with an income of 
less than $1,150 per annum. This would indicate that a minimum-of-comfort bud- 
get, according to the practices and standards of domestic economy prevailing in 
Washington in 1916, must be about $1,200. Since 1916 the cost of the necessities 
of decent living, weighed according to importance in the family budget, has ad- 
vanced approximately 50 per cent. This indicates that an identical standard of 
decency can not be purchased for less than $1,800 today." 

Recent studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the above amount 
should be increased to somewhat over $2,200. An examination of Table 1 shows 
that the average compensation paid in Grade 4 of the questionnaire, comprising 20 
per cent of the positions reported, is practically identical with the amount now 
found by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the minimum family budget; while 
for Grades 5, 6 and 7, comprising 65 per cent of the positions reported, the aver- 
age compensation is far below that amount. The proportion of salaries that are 
less than a living wage would doubtless be found much greater in non-technical 
positions than in technical. While the Government is thus paying thousands of 
its highly trained clerical and technical force less than a living wage and, except 
for the temporary bonus of $240 a year for positions paying salaries of $2,500 or 
less, has ignored the constantly diminishing purchasing power of the salaries paid 
to this class of employees ; it has, on the contrary, given full recognition to in- 
creased living costs in fixing wages in positions involving the organized labor 
crafts. A "shipfitter" in the Navy Yard, for example, receives $1,750 a year, more 
than the average of Grade 5 in the questionnaire, while he is learning how to do his 
work. After three months of apprenticeship, he gets $2,000. If he is made a 
"straw boss" in charge of 12 or more men, he gets $2,450, and if a "sub-foreman" 
in charge of 30 or more men, he gets $2,900, nearly as much as the average of 
Grade 3. A blacksmith (heavy fire) gets $2,400. A "hammer and machine forger" 
(heavy) gets $3,700, only $100 less than the average of Grade 2 of the question- 
naire. 

In general, wages in industry have more than kept step with increases in the 
cost of living. The National Industrial Conference Board in its report on "War- 
time Changes in Industry" found that in eight leading industries during the period 
from September, 1914, to March, 1919, weekly earnings had increased from 62 per 
cent to 110 per cent, while average hourly earnings had increased from 74 per cent 
to 112 per cent. During approximately the same period the salaries of engineering 
positions in the 16 engineering bureaus in civil establishments increased on the 
average from 3 per cent to 19 per cent. Moreover, the fact should not be over- 
looked that not only was the percentage increase in industrial employment many 
times greater than in Federal service, but also that in many instances the amount 
paid for skilled labor is greater than the amount paid to the trained Government 
engineer. Over 40 of the labor crafts were awarded a rate of wage of $2,000 and 
more by" the Labor Adjustment Board. This amount is greater than the average 
paid for Grades 5, 6 and 7 in the questionnaire, comprising 65 per cent of the 
positions reported, as shown in Table 1. The skilled laborer is not required to 
know how to read or write, and he may receive full pay after an experience vary- 
ing from two weeks to six months ; the Government engineering employee, on the 
other hand, to get an equivalent amount, must have had from two to eight years' 
experience if he is not a technical graduate, and in many instances will not be ad- 
mitted at all without a technical degree and then only with from two to four years' 
practical experience. (Fig. 1, page 4.) 

That the salaries now paid are entirely madequate for the purpose of recruit- 
ing for, and retaining in, the Government service the class of employees necessary 
to maintain the service on an efficient basis is evidenced by the rapidly increasing 
rate of turnover in the last few years. This is found no less in the higher paid 

14 



than in the lower paid positions. Unless this movement is checked in the only way 
in which it can be checked, namely, by recognizing that the Government service 
needs as high a quality of talent and experience as private business, and that it can 
secure this only by paying approximately the market price for such talent and ex- 
perience, unless, in fact, the Government takes the same attitude towards its cler- 
ical and particularly toward technical personnel that it has taken toward skilled 
and unskilled labor, there will be in the future in still greater degree than in the 
past a progressive deterioration in personnel, and the Government service will be 
reduced to a training school for private business. 

The committee expects to have for its final report definite data concerning the 
amount of turnover in technical positions and the variation in salaries paid within 
and without the Government service, a variation which is the primary cause of the 
turnover. 



ZOO 



160 



160 



140 




IZO 



100 * ^Lr 



Figure 3. — Companson of prices on wages 1861-1873 and 1913-1919. 

A study of the change in prices and wages during and after the Civil War is of 
interest in connection with changes that have taken place from 1913 to 1919. The 
curves on figure 3, based on reports of the War Industries Board and Department 
of Labor, show these changes. During the Civil War retail prices rose to 164^4 
per cent of the prices in 1860 and wholesale prices to 182 per cent. From 1865 to 
1872 all prices showed a gradual downward trend, and in 1872 the retail prices had 
fallen to 143 per cent and the wholesale to 126 per cent. From 1913 to 1919 the 
cost of living followed closely the trend of wholesale and retail prices from 1860 



15 



to 1865. If history repeats itself we can not expect a large reduction in prices 
during the next 8 or 10 years. It is interesting to note that the rise in wages 
during the Civil War was almost simultaneous with the rise in the prices of com- 
modities. During the World War the rise in wages has lagged about a year be- 
hind the rise in prices. Furthermore, in the period immediately following the 
Civil War wages continued to rise after prices started to fall. The present price 
level is not considered merely temporary by such of our Government agencies as 
the Department of Labor and the Federal Reserve Board or by such economists as 
Irving Fisher a and J. S. Holden ^ Substantial relief from the high cost of liv- 
ing therefore can not reasonably be expected through a decrease in prices ; it must 
be met by increases in salaries. 

PROPOSED SALARY SCALE FOR ENGINEERS. 

No adequate salary scale, at the present tme, can ignore the increase in the cost 
of commodities during the last few years or afford to assume that this increase is 
merely temporary. 

The only serious attempt made by the Government to adjust salaries in engi- 
neering positions to existing conditions, so far as this committee has been able to 
learn, is its action through the Labor Adjustment Board in fixing wage scales for 
the Navy Department and the Emergency Fleet Corporation. This schedule, known 
as the "Macy scale," appHes not only to skilled and unskilled labor but to the draft- 
ing and designing force in the ship and na\y yards. This scale as applicable 
to engineering positions is shown graphically in figure 4. 

The term "draftsman" as used in the Navy Department and in the award of the 
Labor Adjustment Board has a broader significance than is usually attached to the 
term. In the upper grades it involves a character of work and requires a degree 
of experience represented in ordinary practice by the terms "junior assistant en- 
gineer" and "assistant engineer." The duties of "chargeman," for example, in- 
volve the assumption of a considerable degree of responsibility over other men and 
direction of their work. A graduate of a technical school must have had at least 
two years' experience in a shipyard in order to qualify as "chargeman," and one 
who has not had technical training must have had at least five years of such ex- 
perience. These are the qualifications proposed in the committee's definition of 
grades for "assistant engineer." 

On figure 4 the wage scale has been plotted with ordinates representing dollars 
and abscissae representing the minimum years of experience prescribed in the 
award as a prerequisite for entrance into the several grades. The diagram has 
been plotted in two parts. The lower righthand corner shows the scale as applied 
to those who have had no technical school training. The lower part of this scale 
corresponds to the "sub-professional" grades as proposed by the committee. The 
last six years of this scale duplicate in salary range, but not in the experience re- 
quirements, the scale in the lefthand corner of the diagram. Both scales show 
maximum salary rates and minimum experience requirements. In both scales the 
rate of salary increase within any grade of positions (except draftsman, Grade C) 
is $250 a year. On the "sub-professional" scale the general rate of increase, in- 
cluding both increases within the grade and promotions to a higher grade, is $300. 
This may reach an average of $425 a year for one who has entered as "second- 
class copyist" and is promoted to "chargeman" within the minimum allowable time. 

In the "professional" scale the maximum rate of increase for one who enters 
as "draftsman. Grade C," and advances to "chargeman" in the minimum allowable 
time is $750 a year, as compared with a maximum of $425 for the sub-professional 
scale. If the arc of a circle is drawn through the points representing the entrance 
salaries for "draftsman, Grade C," "draftsman, Grade A," and "chargeman," the 
tangent to this curve will represent a maximum rate of increase of $545 a year. 
A salary scale based on this fine as a maximum would give amounts in the higher 
grades somewhat less than those now being paid in such grades in the Navy De- 
partment. The chief difference between the "sub-professional" and the "profes- 
sional" scale is that in the latter the salary lines of the several grades overlap— 



a Fisher, Irving. The new price revolution, U. S. Dept. Labor, 1919. 
^Holden, J. S. Prices during the war and readjustment period, U. S. Dept. 
Labor, April, 1919. 

16 



ENGINEERING COUNCIL 



COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION 

OF ENGINEERS 

Suggestions and criticisms on abstract of Preliminary Report of Federal 
Engineers Section, proposed by 



(Business address) 



(Dated) 

{Please use continuation sheets if necessary^ and mail to John C. Hoyt, 
U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.) 



Definitions and titles of grades: (a) Suitable? 

(6) Changes proposed: 



Schedule of salaries: (a) Satisfactory? 

(6) Changes proposed; 

Application to your local conditions : (a) Favorable? 

(6) Changes proposed; 



Adoption for general use: (a) Desirable? 

(6) Changes proposed: 

Give general comment stating whether the above statements are those 
of an individual or of an organization. 



that is, an individual may pass from grade to grade without having passed through 
all the salary ranges of each grade. 

The several grades proposed by the committee are shown projected on this dia- 
gram on the basis of the minimum years of experience as proposed in the defini- 
tions adopted by the committee. For the two sub-professional grades of "junior 
aid" and "aid," and the lowest two professional grades of "junior assistant engi- 
neer" and "assistant engineer," the specifications of the committee are identical with 
those prescribed in the award of the Labor Adjustment Board. It is fair to as- 
sume that if the Macy scale had been extended to cover higher grade positions, it 



1 


2 


YEARS OF S£:R\//C£ 
3 'f- S 6 7 .a 9 /O n J2 /3 /'^ /S 
































Grade 
< — C/7/ef 

Ehdinee 


/ 








3,000 




















Grade 2 
























ss/c 

DES 


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ngi 




■ 


8,000 


















/ 
























G. 


-gde 


3 






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SeniorAssistant 
<- Engl nee n /^ 




/ 


Rate* 


S45pe 


rannc 


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4- / 


ffate*7SO / 
3e/" annurn / 

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7Zf -, 

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A 
































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/ 


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5,000 










/ 


' / 


/ 
























Grade 5 

<- Junior^ 






// 


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12 3 4-567 

YE/iRS OrSERV/cr 

Figure 4. — Relation between recommended engineering grades and the ''Macy Scale.''' 

would not have materially differed in the requirements for these grades from those 
adopted by the committee. In fact, the Navy Department is now paying a rate of 
$5,634 per annum in a grade that corresponds to the committee's "Senior Assistant 
Engineer," and from $9,000 to $10,000 in the grade corresponding to "Chief Engi- 
neer," both of which figures are approximately on the projected fine of figure 4. 

As a tentative proposal for discussion, the committee presents the salary curve 
of figure 5 built upon the same principles as the Macy scale and practically iden- 
tical with it for the grades covered by both. As applied to positions in the Gov- 
ernment service such a scale has the advantage of being an extension of a scale 



17 



already adopted and in use in Government work. It is believed, however, that it 
will be found equally applicable in State and municipal service and very probably in 
private employment also. 

The schedules of figure 5 are constructed on the same principles as those on 
figure 4. On both, two schedules are given — a "professional," which presupposes an 
engineering degree or its equivalent, and a "sub-professional," which does not re- 
quire such a degree. The minimum number of years of experience required for the 
several grades are as proposed in the committee's definitions of those grades. Of 
the two lines of maximum salary increase, the one for the sub-professional grades 

y£/iRS OF SERVtC£ 
I Z 3 4. 5 e 7 8 9 10 II 12 m 14 15 16 17 18 19 



9,000 



8,000 



7.000 



6,000 



3,000 





























r,^'J§^J- 






































igineer 










profession} 
Grades 


\L 








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1 








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7620 


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7I40 


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braded 

*rSentqrAssis13rrt'> 




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6660 


-esoo- 




























/ 


6180 
























jervict 


0//4. 










Grade f 

« — Assistant — > 

Enpineer 






/ 






sszo 


S760 




















Min. 


Service 3yrs. 




/ 




5040 


S280 












.... . 
























/ 


4S60 


4800 


































/ 


/43B0 






WO 


~ 






















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/ 




3660 


MM 








s 


JB-f- 


PROFESSIONAL 

/ZD A'ncc i 










starrt 








Min S 


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/ 


/ 


3/80 




















Maximum Ratt 
$300 nPT^nnum-, 


^' 




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'^ 


/ 




/ 


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,'2700 




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Grade 6" 
AiH 


/ 








^ ^^ 


Min. Seryice ^ 


/ 


/ 


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Grade 7 

Junior 

Aid 






'f> 


2040 


2160 


2280 










,860 


















Min. Service 
2y.rs. ^ 


^680 




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— 












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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

YEARS OF SERVICE 

Figure 5. — Recommended salary schedule. 

is identical with the general curve for such grades on the Macy scale, namely, 
$300 a year. For the professional grades, a maximum rate of $540 a year has been 
taken. This is shghtly less than the lower of the two curves for the correspond- 
ing grades on the Macy scale. Furthermore, a straight line is used, which has the 
effect of dropping the entire line below the corresponding line on the Macy scale 
"n an amount varying from $8 a year at entrance to the junior grade to $480 a 
year after 12 years of service. 

The two dot and dash lines on the diagram represent the maximum rate of ad- 
vancement through a period of years involving service in more than one grade. 
The normal rate within any one grade is represented by the solid stepped lines, 



18 



which indicate a normal annual advancement within the sub-professional grades of 
$120 a year and within the professional grades of $340 a year, as compared with 
$250 a year in the Macy scale. In general, therefore, this schedule is somewhat 
less than the Macy scale. 

The proposed application of the schedule is as follows : An individual entering 
the service as junior assistant engineer would receive the entrance salary of $1,620. 
Annually the individuals in the grade of junior assistant engineer would be rated 
either as a whole or in groups by a method which would determine the relative 
standing of the individuals in the grade or group. The grade or group would then 
be divided into three sections on the basis of the relative standing as determined — 
the upper section to contain, say, the top one-fourth, the second section the middle 
one-half, and the third section the lowest one-fourth. The middle one-half would 



Grade 



Titles of 
Positions 



. Minimum 
^ Years of 
Service 
in Grade 



{Minimum 

Salary 

of Grade 



Total Promotion 
in GradeMum- 
berand Amount 
of Standard An- 
nual Promotions 



Maximum Total 
Salary Promotion 
of Grade between 
Grades 



PROFESSIONAL G/?ADES 

Chief 
I Eng/neer 



Engineer 4- 



Sen /or 
_ Ass/stant « 

O Engineer o 



A^sistar7t - 



^ Engineer 

5 Eng/neer 



Junior 
Assistant ^ 



8100 



5940, 



4320 



2700 



I620 




and up 



7860 



5760 



4/40 



2580 



2.160 



I62.0 



:6ZO 



1080 



SUB-PROFESSIONAL Gf?ADES 

6 Ai(f 3 



jun/or ^ 

Aid 2 



1660^ \6XIZ0 




2400 



600 



Table 



/080 Wi2o]-^ 1560 

Tentative recommended salary schedule. 



then be given the normal salary advance of $240 a year, the upper one-fourth twice 
the normal, or $480, and the lowest one-fourth no advance. The average advance 
in the entire grade would be the normal of $240. This plan differs from the Macy 
scale award in that the latter grants an automatic increase of $250 a year to all 
persons in the grade. It is believed, however, that the plan proposed will provide 
a desirable spirit of competition, by making it to the pecuniary advantage of every 
individual to get into or remain in the highest section in his grade. 

The normal salary scale for each grade is drawn up on the basis of a period of 
service in the grade of approximately twice the duration prescribed as a minimum 
for eligibility to a higher grade. This minimum period of service having expired, 
a qualified individual would be eligible for advancement into the next higher grade 



19 



whenever a vacancy occurs in that grade. Such vacancies should be filled by the 
promotion of the best man in the upper section of the grade, thus making provision 
whereby a person of exceptional ability could, through a period of years, advance 
at a rate greater than is shown by the individual grade scale. The practical appli- 
cation of this schedule will, of course, require an adequate personnel classification 
and a carefully worked out plan of rating the relative efficiency of individual em- 
ployees. 

Table 3 shows the proposed schedule in tabular form. Table 4 is a summary of 
the recommendations made in connection with the questionnaires submitted by the 
several bureaus. This table also shows the ratio of the recommended schedule to 
the existing schedules in civilian establishments and in the Navy Department. 

The committee is collecting and studying additional data, particularly with re- 
spect to salaries paid in engineering positions in private employment, and will sub- 
mit such data with its conclusions in its final report. 

Table 4. — Average of salary schedule recommended by bureau chiefs. 



^ 


No. 
of 

per- 
sons. 

(2) 


Recommended pay 
per annum. 


Present 
average 4 
Engineering 
Bureaus in 
Navy De- 
partment. 

(6) 


Present 
average 16 

Engineering 
Bureaus in 

Civil Estab- 
lishments. 

(7) 


Ratio'cf 
Column 6 

to » 
Column^5. 

(8) 


Ratio of 
Column 7 


o 
(1) 


*Maxi- 
mum. 

(3) 


*Mini- 
mum. 

(4) 


Aver- 
age. 

(5) 


to 
Cohimn 5. 

(9) 


1 


15 


$9,750 


$8,600 


$9,175 


$9,450 


$5,867 


103.0 


63.9 


2 


83 


6,780 


5,610 


6,040 


6,381 


3,801 


113.9 


67.9 


3 


209 


5,280 


3,980 


4,600 


4,312 


3,104 


93.7 


67.5 


4 


846 


3,820 


3,040 


3,400 


3,600 


2,222 


105.9 


65.4 


5 


1,353 


3,240 


2,260 


2,720 


2,818 


1,719 


103.6 


63.2 


6 


1,092 


2,750 


1,620 


2,060 


1,954 


1,293 


94.8 


62.7 


7 


169 


1,500 


900 


1,340 


1,379 


975 


102.6 


72.5 


8 


189 


7,140 


3,000 


4,220 


2,717 


1,812 


64.4 


42.9 



Average of amounts recommended by individual bureaus. 



20 



COMMITTEES 

Executive — J. Parke Channing, Chairman; D. S. Jacobus, Charles S. 
Churchill, Comfort A. Adams, Philip N. Moore and Charles 
E. Skinner. 

Finance — N. A. Carle, Chairman; Charles F. Loweth, Sidney J. Jen- 
nings and George J. Foran. 

Nominating — Clemens Herschel, Chairman; George F. Kunz, Charles 
E. Skinner and Albert Ladd Colby. 

Rules — J. Parke Channing, Chairman; Clemens Herschel, N. A. Carle 
and Irving E. Moultrop. 

Advisory Committee to New York State Reconstruction Commission 

— George W. Fuller, Chairman; H. deB. Parsons, George F. 
Kunz, Paul G. Brown and L. B. Stillwell. 

Americanization — Alex. C. Humphreys, Chairman; Palmer C. 
Ricketts, Samuel Sheldon, W. F. M. Goss and Albert R. Ledoux. 

Classification and Compensation of Engineers — Arthur S. Tuttle, 
Chairman; Francis Lee Stuart, John C. Hoyt, Charles Whiting 
Baker and M. O. Leighton. 

Curricula of Engineering Schools — Alex. C. Humphreys, Chairman; 
D. S. Jacobus, Edwin Ludlow and Comfort A. Adams. 

Fuel Conservation — L. P. Breckenridge, Chairman; Ozni P. Hood, 
Secretary; Robert H. Fernald, Charles R. Richards, Charles L. 
Edgar, Carl Scholz, David Moffat Myers, Edwin Ludlow and 
Harold W. Buck. 

International Affiliation of Engineers — Charles F. Loweth, Chair- 
man; H. C. Parmelee and Henry A. Lardner. 

License — Theodore L. Condron, Chairman; Francis C. Shenehon, 
Parley Gannett, John H. Dunlap, Arthur M. Greene, Jr.; Caleb 
M. Saville, James H. Herron, A. M. Schoen, John Klorer, A. 
Lincoln Fellows, Amos Slater, C. H. Snyder, John W. Alvord, 
Bion J. Arnold and F. C. Woermann. 

National Service — M. O. Leighton, Chairman; George F. Swain, C. B. 
Burdick, Philip N. Moore, L. D. Ricketts, Andrew M. Lockett, 
Andrew M. Hunt, W. C. L. Eglin, Bancroft Gherardi and 
Charles Whiting Baker, ex-officio. 

Patents — Charles A. Terry, Chairman; C. A. P. Turner, Corydon T. 
Purdy, J. Parke Channing, Horace V. Winchell, Edwin J. 
Prindle, D. S. Jacobus and Frank N. Waterman. 

Public AfiFairs — Charles Whiting Baker, Chairman; George F. Swain, 
Benjamin B. Thayer, Albert Ladd Colby and M. O. Leighton, 
ex-officio. 

Publicity — James Owen, Chairman; W. W. Macon and J. G. Little. 

Publicity Methods — J. Parke Channing, Chairman; Alfred D. Flinn, 
Lewis D. Rights, Bradley Stoughton, George A. Orrok, W. I. 
Slichter, C. L. Warwick. 

Reconstruction — J. Parke Channing, Chairman; Harold W. Buck, 
George F. Swain, D. S. Jacobus, Calvert Townley and George 
J. Foran. 

Water Conservation — Calvert Townley, Chairman; Charles T. Main, 
Allen Hazen, Arthur E. Morgan, M. O. Leighton, H. Hobart 
Porter and Arthur P. Davis. 

g) . ^ 




©- 



028 116 142 fi 

V 



ENGINEERING SOCIETIES EMPLOYMENT 
BUREAU 

Directors — Calvin W. Rice, Chairman; Charles Warren 
Hunt, Bradley Stoughton, F. L. Hutchinson (secre- 
taries of the Founder Societies) . Walter V. Brown, 
Manager. 

No charges for services. Personal attention to ap- 
plications for men and positions. Engineers not members 
of a society represented in Engineering Council are re- 
quired to present introductions from members. 



FOUNDER SOCIETIES 

By Founder Societies are meant American Society of 
Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining and Metal- 
lurgical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical En- 
gineers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 
which founded United Engineering Society, Engineering 
Societies Library, Engineering Foundation and Engineer- 
ing Council. 



ADDRESSES 

Addresses of representatives and of chairmen and 
members of committees can be found in the year-books 
►f the member societies. 




